On Tuesday, the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said the man thought to have paid $50,000 (£32,000) for the chance to kill Cecil was not a Spaniard as originally believed, but US citizen Walter Palmer, from a small town near Minneapolis. The man left the lion skinned and headless on the outskirts of the park, the ZCTF’s Johnny Rodrigues said in a statement.

The hunt took place around 6 July. “They went hunting at night with a spotlight and they spotted Cecil,” Rodrigues said. “They tied a dead animal to their vehicle to lure Cecil out of the park and they scented an area about half a kilometre from the park.”

The hunter first shot at Cecil with a bow and arrow but failed to kill the lion. “They tracked him down and found him 40 hours later when they shot him with a gun,” Rodrigues said.

…

Two people who accompanied the hunter on his Zimbabwe trip were identified by authorities and arrested earlier this month, including Theo Bronkhorst, the founder of Bushman Safaris Zimbabwe which is believed to have organised the hunt. Both are facing poaching charges and due to appear in court in early August.

Zimbabwe National Parks confirmed the charges. “In this case, both the professional hunter and land owner had no permit or quota to justify the offtake of the lion and therefore are liable for the illegal hunt,” it said in a statement. Bronkhorst’s hunting license has been suspended and efforts were being made to interview another employee of Bushman Safaris who was believed to have also taken part in the hunt.

Palmer, who probably grinned from ear to ear during the part in Lion King where Mufasa was trampled to death, maintains his innocence. He’s probably right, and it isn’t entirely his fault. He paid $50,000 for experienced guides who should have known better.

You’d almost feel bad for Palmer, if the hunters hadn’t tried to cover up the entire thing by destroying Cecil’s GPS collar. They also essentially sentenced Cecil’s cubs to death:

Conservation authorities said they were also dealing with the likely consequences of Cecil’s death for his six cubs. “The saddest part of all is that now that Cecil is dead, the next lion in the hierarchy, Jericho, will most likely kill all Cecil’s cubs so that he can insert his own bloodline into the females.”

Holy shit. Lions are brutal animals.

While many want Palmer extradited back to Zimbabwe to face charges for his crime, the probability of that happening is slim to none. So internet activists did what they do best: They targeted the internet testicles of any doctor or entrepreneur — his Yelp page.

Well, I guess it’s safe to assume why Dr. Palmer was charging all those exorbitant fees.

It isn’t “big-game” hunting if the animals have routinely socialized with humans. Palmer sucks — as a dentist and a hunter..

I would normally give a hunter being attacked by the media the benefit of the doubt but he has a also felony for killing a black bear in a park and then relocating it outside the protected range (not sure if this article says that since I didn’t read it)

I also read he settled a sexual harassment case brought on by one of his employees for $127K. Couple that with his prior conviction and these current allegations and this guy is pretty much a douche bag.

Not even hunting, he fuckin baited it with a carcass tied to a car. No way they didn’t know what lion it was, it was rare and tagged. Palmer is a major boner and fuckin geed. Free market at work will bankrupt you, fuckboy.

5-star ratings on yelp get placed higher up on the list so they’re more visible. I’ll probably get lapped for a stupid fact like this, but I’m just trying to show that even liberals aren’t that fucking dumb

If you want to hunt a leopard dont be a pussy go at it with your natural abilities and a spear. THATS hunting, killing something from 200 yards away with a gun isnt hunting because any goober with a steady hand and an trigger finger can do it. So do me a favor take a step back and literally fuck your own face.

If I was paying for a lion hunt from a group of experienced guides I wouldn’t really try and stick my nose into every detail. But I would at least make sure they were a reputable company, and check their permits before I shot anything.

I would love to shoot a lion. But not a fucking tame lion living in a park. That’s like shooting a zoo animal. why the fuck would someone pay the 50,000 trophy fee for a non sporting let alone illegal hunt?? and the guide didn’t even keep the meat? THE FUCK? If I shot a lion you can bet your Zimbabwe ass i’m gonna eat me a fucking Lion Steak.

You know who doesn’t give a shit about Cecil the lion? If you guessed just about anyone who lives in Zimbabwe, you’d be correct. They have other things to worry about like an 80% unemployment rate, starvation, and a lack of potable water or infrastructure. I’m pretty sure that if the people of Zimbabwe had access to the internet, giving this dude, who spent more than 50 grand in their sandbox to pursue a legal activity, a bad yelp review would be pretty low on their priority list.